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Dec 04, 2016TEENREVIEWCREW rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Indian Horse is the thought-provoking story of a man as he begins to reflect on his past and his difficult childhood. It tells the story of a young boy, as he navigates life after being taken from his home and family, and having his culture and traditions taken away from him. The author manages to capture the horrors of the Residential School system in Canada, and the persistent racism and hatred it provoked. While the story is fictional, it is very similar to many real-life stories of First Nations children that were forced to live without their family, culture, and language, by a group of people that did not truly care about their health and well-being. This book deals with topics such as racism, abuse, and cultural genocide in an understandable and thought-provoking manner. @avidreader16 of the Teen Review Board at the Hamilton Public Library Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese is an insightful and heart-wrenching book about the horrors of the residential schools in Canada. Saul was living with his father, mother, grandmother, and phantom siblings when he was pulled into a car full of strangers. From that moment, his life was changed for the worse. He was stripped of his clothes, voice, and his identity for the years to come, and was forced to endure the pain of seeing himself and others humiliated and abused for one reason: for being Indigenous. He found solace in the game of hockey and climbed his way to professional leagues. But something was missing--himself. I was always told about the residential schools that were ingrained in Canadian history, but Indian Horse was able to open my eyes to the reality of the schools; the humiliation, abuse, eventual trauma, everything that I wasn’t taught about was described in this book. This book should be a staple in every Canadian’s household for the truth that it exposes and the understanding that it demands. I give this book a 5/5 star rating and recommend it to readers ages 14+. @ilovefood of The Hamilton Public Library's Teen Review Board Indian Horse is a chilling tale about a young indigenous boy named Saul and his historically accurate experiences with the Canadian residential schools. While this book is fiction, the beautifully crafted words of Wagamese make the book seem like a historical tale. It follows Saul from his early childhood, to the residential schools, to his life afterwards, and a huge downwards spiral that it follows, and a whole bunch of hockey added in between. Normally I talk more about the summary, but for this one I want to keep it simple. I, myself, didn’t enjoy it, but I can say for a fact, that I consider it to be a good book. It somehow keeps you entertained, even when, in my opinion, is not entertaining content. It’s, honestly hard for me to describe. It’s just a well written book that keeps you entertained even when you aren’t enjoying the actual plot or story. Not to mention the final plot twist… It’s not a book for the light hearted, it does go into some disturbing detail about erm, happenings at the schools. I would definitely recommend it to anyone older than 12, just because I’m not sure it would be good for them to read, it’s a bit disturbing. 4/5. @Xeno of the Teen Review Board at the Hamilton Public Library